2012 - Volume #36, Issue #2, Page #16
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Predator Eats Through Logs In A Second
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So far, that’s a record, says Robert Andrews, owner and builder of the 509-lb., 300-plus hp, 200-mph cutting monster.
The Enumclaw, Wash., resident built the saw after his wife asked him why he didn’t have an engine-powered saw to use at lumberjack competitions. “About $20,000 later she wondered why she said it,” Andrews laughs.
Employed as a machinist, Andrews was up to the task. He chose a 1963 Buick V-8 215 cubic inch engine because it was the lightest weight V-8.
“It was a short block all in pieces. It all had to be machined, so I custom-built it like a full-blown race engine.”
The driving mechanism is a jackshaft off a tractor. Pulleys from a dragster’s super charger drive the chain.
He purchased the biggest chainsaw chain he could – an Oregon 11H Harvester chain used in mechanized logging – and custom-built the 4-ft. bar. Running at 8,000 to 9,000 rpm’s the biggest concern is breaking a chain during a cut. “When they break they act like a bullwhip,” Andrews says. “At a Canadian competition, a 12-in. piece of chain flew 1 1/2 miles.”
Fascination with the Predator led to a four-page spread in Hot Rod magazine. As far as Andrews knows it’s the only time a chainsaw has ever been featured in the magazine.
At 48, Andrews admits the saw seems to be getting heavier, but he has four or five lift partners to take turns with him at shows. And he has a plan for the future.
“I’m going to keep it forever and get young strong kids to run it,” he laughs.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Andrews, P.O. Box 648, Enumclaw, Wash. 98022 (ph 360 333-3539; predatorhotsaw@hotmail.com).
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